Intel on EU antitrust charges: Our actions benefited consumers

Intel has released a statement in response to the EC's antitrust complaint, …

Intel has responded to the European Commission's Statement of Objections outlining alleged anticompetitive behavior, saying that its conduct has been "lawful, procompetitive, and beneficial to consumers." The Statement of Objections was sent to Intel late last week and accused the chipmaker of using illegal methods to coerce PC makers into shipping systems with Intel CPUs instead of AMD CPUs.

In a statement released Friday, the chipmaker said that the case is based on AMD's complaints to European antitrust authorities rather than arising from consumer discontent with its practices in Europe. "While we would certainly have preferred to avoid the cost and inconvenience of establishing that our competitive conduct in Europe has been lawful, the Commission's decision to issue a Statement of Objections means that at last Intel will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the allegations made by our primary competitor," said Intel SVP and general counsel Bruce Sewell.

Intel's troubles in Europe began with AMD's filing a complaint with the EC in 2000. Intel's European offices were raided by EU authorities in 2005, and AMD lodged another formal complaint with German regulators last year, alleging that Intel had convinced electronics retailer Media Markt to sell only Intel computers in exchange for undisclosed payments.

Intel also points out that the EC's Statement of Objections is a far cry from a finding of anticompetitive behavior. While true, it likely signals the beginning of a long and potentially costly legal battle with European regulators who have shown no hesitation when it comes to taking on American companies.

AMD cheered the EC's decision. "Consumers know today that their welfare has been sacrificed in the illegal interest of preserving monopoly profits," said Thomas M. McCoy, AMD's executive vice president of legal affairs and chief administrative officer. "Intel has circled the globe with a pattern of conduct, including direct payments, in order to enforce full and partial boycotts of AMD. The EU action obviously suggests that Intel has, once again, been unable to justify its illegal conduct,"

Now that the EC has formally delivered the Statement to Intel, the chipmaker has ten weeks in which to respond.